Lowell "Bruce" Johnson, 78 of Spearfish, South Dakota, passed away on January 23, 2020 at Sturgis Regional Senior Care.

Lowell Bruce Johnson was born at the Moline Lutheran Hospital to Eldon and Lucille (Benson) Johnson on April 12, 1941 in Moline, IL. When he was still an infant, the family moved back to their home state of Nebraska where Bruce graduated from Polk High School as the Valedictorian of his class in 1959.

He was an outstanding high school athlete where he competed in football, basketball and track. As a senior, Bruce was nominated for the Omaha World Herald Athlete of the Year award for the State of Nebraska.

Bruce also loved music. He played in the high school band and sang in the chorus. But his favorite love was the piano, which he could play by ear and by note. Wherever he was, if he walked into a room with a piano, he would immediately just sit down and play.

He attended Midland Lutheran College where he met and married Judy Morland in December of 1964. After college, Bruce taught high school in Omaha, Cozad, and Big Springs, NE. In 1968, they adopted their daughter Jeana, and in 1972, they adopted their son Brent.

Bruce went on to accept a sales position with Harcourt Brace & Jovanovich (also the owner of the Nebraska Farmer magazine) and spent the next 36 years driving around western Nebraska and eastern Colorado where he sold insurance to farmers and ranchers. His clients became his friends and he spent many meals at their dinner tables.

In 1997, Bruce met and married Connie Nichols from Albuquerque, NM. They made their home on Lake Maloney outside North Platte, NE where Bruce was active in the United Methodist Church and the Heartland Singers. He and Connie also took an active role in mentoring middle school children in the Tom & Nancy Osborne Teammates program. He loved spending time in the Nebraska sandhills where he would go hunting, golfing with his son at Dismal River Club, and fishing with his friends on the Snake River.

In 2006, Bruce and Connie retired to Spearfish, SD. This allowed Bruce to enjoy his love of fly fishing which he did in the Black Hills, Wyoming, and Montana. He and his friends also liked to take his boat to fish for walleye at Orman Dam or salmon at Lake Oahe.

He was a member of the Spearfish United Methodist Church choir and mentored participants of the Boys & Girls Club hunting program.

Bruce is survived by his wife Connie; children, Jeana (Mike) Lute, Harlingen, TX, Brent (Mary) Johnson, San Francisco, CA; grandson, Moses; sister, Linda Stein; niece, Jennifer Stewart; nephew, Scott Stevens; step-children, Torey (David) Dudley, Lincoln, NE, Patrick (Sherly) Nichols, Des Moines, IA; step-grandchildren, Christopher, Zachary (Norma) and Ashley Lute; Jacob (Karlene), Jordan, Cameron (Natalia) and Connor Dudley; Joshua (Darci) and Isaac (Jordan) Getter; Brooke (Michael) Davis; Ashjian, Laurel and MaKenna Nichols; and special friend, Kent Cowgill. Bruce and Kent competed in high school athletics, went through college together and roomed together while both were teaching in Omaha. They talked on the phone every day, planning hunting trips, talking Nebraska football and making dollar bets on golf meets, basketball games and football games, pro and college.

Bruce was preceded in death by his parents, Lucille & Eldon Johnson.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 1, 2020, at the United Methodist Church in Spearfish, SD.  in lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established to the Spearfish Teammates, c/o Matt Koehler, 525 E. Illinois Street, Spearfish, SD 57783.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels and Isburg Crematory of Spearfish. Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com